TYPES OF METHODS AND DATA
GROUP INTERVIEWS:
- Up to a dozen people are interviewed together (Willis and the 12 'lads').
FOCUS GROUPS:
- A form of group interviews where the researcher asks the group to discuss certain topics
and record their views.
PRIMARY DATA:
- Information collected by the sociologist themselves.
- Examples include:
+ Social surveys/questionnaires.
+ Participant observation.
+ Experiments.
SECONDARY DATA
- Information collected by someone else, but which sociologists can use. examples
include:
+ Official statistics.
+ Documents.
+ Paintings.
PROS AND CONS OF PRIMARY DATA:
- Advantages:
+ Able to gather precise information.
- Disadvantages:
+ Time consuming.
+ Expensive.
PROS AND CONS OF SECONDARY DATA:
- Advantages:
+ Quick
+ Cheap
- Disadvantages:
+ May be imprecise in the information as the same question may not be answered.
QUANTITATIVE DATA:
- Data in numerical form:
+ Questionnaires
+ Structured interviews
+ Experiments
QUALITATIVE DATA:
- Data in words, involves expression and detail:
+ Documents.
+ Unstructured interviews
+ Participant observation
TRIANGULATION:
- Using two or more sources or methods to obtain a more rounded picture by studying the
same thing from more than one viewpoint, leading to reliability and representativeness.
- Different methods can complement each other as combining methods provides us with
representativeness and reliability.
, FACTORS INFLUENCING CHOICES
FACTORS INFLUENCING CHOICE OF METHODS:
- Theoretical issues.
- Ethical issues.
- Practical issues.
PRACTICAL ISSUES (STORMS):
- Subject matter.
- Time.
- Research opportunity.
- Requirement of funding bodies.
- Money.
- Skills of the researcher.
TIME AND MONEY:
- Different time and money consumption for each method, and the access to resources
can be a major influence (e.g: large scale studies require lots of staff, while small
scale studies can take several years).
REQUIREMENT OF FUNDING BODIES:
- Research institutions/businesses/organisations that provide funding may want results
in a particular form (e.g: government departments researching educational
achievement, in which the appropriate method is a qualitative approach).
PERSONAL SKILLS:
- Each sociologist has different skills, some sociologists may have difficulties in certain
areas. For example, participant observation requires someone with skills in mixing
with others and empathy.
SUBJECT MATTER:
- Particular groups or subjects may be harder to study with certain methods. For
example, it is difficult for male sociologists to study an all-female group through
participant observation.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY:
- Some unexpected opportunities appear, not always possible to use structured
methods like questionnaires (James Patrick was forced to choose participant
observation to study a gang).
ETHICAL ISSUES:
- Informed consent.
- Confidentiality and privacy.
- Harm to participants.
- Vulnerable groups.
INFORMED CONSENT:
- Right to refuse must be offered, participants should be told about the study to make
an informed decision, and consent needs to be given before the research begins.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY:
- Identity of participants should be kept secret to avoid negative effects/bias, and
personal information should be kept confidential.
, HARM TO PARTICIPANTS:
- Researchers must be aware of possible side effects, such as police intervention,
impact on employment prospects, social exclusion and psychological damage. These
can all cause the participants harm (researchers should anticipate and prevent).
DECEPTION:
- Researcher's identity and purpose are hidden. In this case, deception can be a
serious ethical problem, as it is impossible to gain informed consent (McIntyre
studying Chelsea football 'hooligans').
VULNERABLE GROUPS:
- Care needs to be taken with vulnerable groups (age, disability, physical/mental
health).
- When studying children, there is a need for child protection, and researchers must
follow safety rules. Consent from the parent and child must be shown, and
information about the research must be communicated in language that the child can
understand.
THEORETICAL ISSUES:
- Validity.
- Reliability.
- Representativeness.
- Methodological perspective.
VALIDITY:
- Providing a true and genuine picture of society. Many sociologists argue that
qualitative methods give us valid results. deeper insight is also provided through
primary data.
RELIABILITY:
- Referring to replicability, if the study was repeated would the same results be
achieved? Many sociologists argue that quantitative methods give us reliable results.
REPRESENTATIVENESS:
- Is your sample a typical representation of the wide group being studied? Are the
results generalizable for all people of that group? Large scale surveys are likely to
produce representative data.
METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE:
- Sociologists are influenced by methodological perspectives:
+ Positivists: prefer quantitative methods to discover patterns of behaviour
(Functionalists/Marxists, conduct macro/large-scale studies)
+ Interpretivists: prefer qualitative methods to understand the meanings behind
behaviour (are often interactionists (Becker) and conduct micro/small scale
studies).
GROUP INTERVIEWS:
- Up to a dozen people are interviewed together (Willis and the 12 'lads').
FOCUS GROUPS:
- A form of group interviews where the researcher asks the group to discuss certain topics
and record their views.
PRIMARY DATA:
- Information collected by the sociologist themselves.
- Examples include:
+ Social surveys/questionnaires.
+ Participant observation.
+ Experiments.
SECONDARY DATA
- Information collected by someone else, but which sociologists can use. examples
include:
+ Official statistics.
+ Documents.
+ Paintings.
PROS AND CONS OF PRIMARY DATA:
- Advantages:
+ Able to gather precise information.
- Disadvantages:
+ Time consuming.
+ Expensive.
PROS AND CONS OF SECONDARY DATA:
- Advantages:
+ Quick
+ Cheap
- Disadvantages:
+ May be imprecise in the information as the same question may not be answered.
QUANTITATIVE DATA:
- Data in numerical form:
+ Questionnaires
+ Structured interviews
+ Experiments
QUALITATIVE DATA:
- Data in words, involves expression and detail:
+ Documents.
+ Unstructured interviews
+ Participant observation
TRIANGULATION:
- Using two or more sources or methods to obtain a more rounded picture by studying the
same thing from more than one viewpoint, leading to reliability and representativeness.
- Different methods can complement each other as combining methods provides us with
representativeness and reliability.
, FACTORS INFLUENCING CHOICES
FACTORS INFLUENCING CHOICE OF METHODS:
- Theoretical issues.
- Ethical issues.
- Practical issues.
PRACTICAL ISSUES (STORMS):
- Subject matter.
- Time.
- Research opportunity.
- Requirement of funding bodies.
- Money.
- Skills of the researcher.
TIME AND MONEY:
- Different time and money consumption for each method, and the access to resources
can be a major influence (e.g: large scale studies require lots of staff, while small
scale studies can take several years).
REQUIREMENT OF FUNDING BODIES:
- Research institutions/businesses/organisations that provide funding may want results
in a particular form (e.g: government departments researching educational
achievement, in which the appropriate method is a qualitative approach).
PERSONAL SKILLS:
- Each sociologist has different skills, some sociologists may have difficulties in certain
areas. For example, participant observation requires someone with skills in mixing
with others and empathy.
SUBJECT MATTER:
- Particular groups or subjects may be harder to study with certain methods. For
example, it is difficult for male sociologists to study an all-female group through
participant observation.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY:
- Some unexpected opportunities appear, not always possible to use structured
methods like questionnaires (James Patrick was forced to choose participant
observation to study a gang).
ETHICAL ISSUES:
- Informed consent.
- Confidentiality and privacy.
- Harm to participants.
- Vulnerable groups.
INFORMED CONSENT:
- Right to refuse must be offered, participants should be told about the study to make
an informed decision, and consent needs to be given before the research begins.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY:
- Identity of participants should be kept secret to avoid negative effects/bias, and
personal information should be kept confidential.
, HARM TO PARTICIPANTS:
- Researchers must be aware of possible side effects, such as police intervention,
impact on employment prospects, social exclusion and psychological damage. These
can all cause the participants harm (researchers should anticipate and prevent).
DECEPTION:
- Researcher's identity and purpose are hidden. In this case, deception can be a
serious ethical problem, as it is impossible to gain informed consent (McIntyre
studying Chelsea football 'hooligans').
VULNERABLE GROUPS:
- Care needs to be taken with vulnerable groups (age, disability, physical/mental
health).
- When studying children, there is a need for child protection, and researchers must
follow safety rules. Consent from the parent and child must be shown, and
information about the research must be communicated in language that the child can
understand.
THEORETICAL ISSUES:
- Validity.
- Reliability.
- Representativeness.
- Methodological perspective.
VALIDITY:
- Providing a true and genuine picture of society. Many sociologists argue that
qualitative methods give us valid results. deeper insight is also provided through
primary data.
RELIABILITY:
- Referring to replicability, if the study was repeated would the same results be
achieved? Many sociologists argue that quantitative methods give us reliable results.
REPRESENTATIVENESS:
- Is your sample a typical representation of the wide group being studied? Are the
results generalizable for all people of that group? Large scale surveys are likely to
produce representative data.
METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE:
- Sociologists are influenced by methodological perspectives:
+ Positivists: prefer quantitative methods to discover patterns of behaviour
(Functionalists/Marxists, conduct macro/large-scale studies)
+ Interpretivists: prefer qualitative methods to understand the meanings behind
behaviour (are often interactionists (Becker) and conduct micro/small scale
studies).
